By AP
Frankfort, KY – More than $3.1 million will be distributed to 88 counties to clean up 1,244 illegal dumps. It's the second round of grants from 2002 legislation aimed at doing something about the trash that litters the Kentucky landscape.
Local governments must provide a 25% match to obtain the funds.
Dump sites were selected by the Division of Waste Management from a list of 2,250 open dumps reported by the counties. Dumps were assigned priority on the basis of contents and environmental factors such as proximity to schools and water sources.
State funding for the dump cleanup is from a $1.75 remediation fee attached to each ton of garbage generated in kentucky and disposed of at municipal solid waste disposal facilities.
The first round of funding from the Kentucky Pride Fund was in September of 2004 when more than $4.5 million in matching funds went for cleanup of 82 sites in 34 counties.